


These Paths Will Cross (again, again)

by taywen



Series: Keys to the Old Kingdom [2]
Category: Keys to the Kingdom - Garth Nix, Old Kingdom - Garth Nix
Genre: Abhorsen!Arthur, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-02
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-17 23:21:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1406362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taywen/pseuds/taywen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"I can help you," the Will says, fluttering over to perch on his shoulder. The raven seems heavier than Arthur might have expected, and the bruises on Arthur's shoulder throb faintly in protest. He raises his other hand, thinking to push it off. "If you remove this collar, that is... It's terribly tight." It pushes its head against Arthur's hand, managing to get the collar hooked around Arthur's fingers-</i>
</p><p>Arthur learns what it means to be the Abhorsen with the help of various people. (OK, just two, and arguably the Piper's not so much helping as beating the knowledge into him.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title from _These Paths_ by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
> 
> The first few chapters take place immediately after the previous, but later installments will have implied timeskips. I think it's a bit slow going at first but please stick with it...!

"You may call me the Piper," the current Abhorsen says, a few minutes into the car ride away from the only home Arthur's ever known.

Arthur can't quite stop himself from looking at the bandolier strapped across the Piper's chest.

Tom snorts, quickly looking away to hide his smile.

"I prefer the pipes," the Piper says, stiffly. "Though they are weaker than the bells." His pale fingertips, the only portion of his skin apart from his mouth and chin exposed to the open air, brush the handle of the largest bell briefly. "You will be starting with the pipes when I deem you fit to do so."

Arthur nods, though he doesn't really know what the Piper is talking about.

"I think Arthur will need a bit more of a primer than that, brother," Tom says mildly.

The Piper's mask turns toward him, and Arthur finds himself shifting beneath the unseen scrutiny. "What do you know of the Charter?" he asks abruptly, turning away once more.

"I know a bit of Charter magic," Arthur offers. "Just- just what's taught at my school. It's probably not a lot..."

"I imagine it will not be," the Piper agrees.

"Still, it's better than nothing," Tom says firmly.

The Piper makes a noncommittal sound, and says nothing more.

Arthur looks down at his hands and takes several deep breaths as he tries to ignore the tears prickling at his eyes.

* * *

 

He didn't bring anything from home; Tom had said, regretfully, that anything manufactured in Ancelstierre would break down in the Old Kingdom. Tom had also produced some clothes for Arthur after they'd crossed the Wall, which was a good thing - Arthur's factory-made clothing had already started to unravel.

The journey to the Abhorsen's House passes quickly, a few short days that Arthur barely notices, and then he's standing on the lawn with Tom.

"Well," Tom says uncomfortably, "I suppose this is it. I'll be going on to the Belisaere, the ca-"

"-the capital, right?" Arthur says. He's seen various maps of the Old Kingdom - none of which could seem to agree on any geographical feature of the northern country - but they all named Belisaere as the capital.

Tom smiles and nods. "Indeed. My brother thinks you should settle in a bit before making an appearance at court."

Arthur glances at the door through which the Piper had disappeared without a word to either of them as soon as they'd landed on the island.

"He will warm up to you, I'm sure," Tom says, but the slight crease between his brows belies his words.

"Right," Arthur says.

Tom sighs. "If you have any questions, you can address the sendings - Charter magic constructs that function as servants," he explains, upon seeing Arthur's blank look. "They cannot speak, though they will be able to direct you to where you need to go within the house, and help you get used to things here."

"OK," Arthur says. "It's just me and these sendings and the Piper in the house?"

"And the Will," Tom says. "It always looks like a bear when it comes to see me; but I know it takes the form of a snake around the Piper. It's a Free Magic creature of some sort - it's very knowledgeable, but it also lies."

"Great," Arthur says, though he thinks the opposite.

"You can write to me at any time," Tom says. "There are messenger birds."

Arthur nods, though he doubts he will. What can Tom do to help him? He's not the Abhorsen, and even if he is the Piper's older brother it's obvious the Piper has little respect for him.

"I will," he lies, because Tom looks like he's waiting for some kind of verbal reply.

Tom looks relieved and makes his excuses.

Twenty minutes later Arthur is alone in the Abhorsen's House, without the slightest idea of what is to come.


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur does not see hide nor hair of the Piper for the rest of the day.

Half of the main floor is taken up with a large hall, which seems to serve as the dining room. Given the thin layer of dust that seems to have settled over everything but the dining table, Arthur imagines it doesn't see much use.

No surprise there, given the Piper's nature. He doesn't seem like the type to entertain guests.

He feels a bit bad for thinking that after, but the Piper has done nothing to endear himself to his supposed successor. In fact, he basically kidnapped Arthur from the only life he's ever known then left him to fend for himself.

Most of the second floor is bedrooms, with a large armoury and a disused workshop filling the rest of the space. The third floor includes a music room and a salle des armes, with the rest of the floor comprising what he assumes to be the Piper's quarters. The door is locked when he tries it and the Piper yells for him to leave. Arthur's more than happy to do so.

He's exploring the music room when some sendings appear around midday and lead him to the hall on the main floor. The head of the table is set, and the seat to the right of it. Arthur sits there, wondering if the Piper will make an appearance; he does not.

Arthur devours the fish and bread and just about everything else the sendings put in front of him. He hadn't realized he was so hungry.

"Thanks," Arthur says, sitting back with a contented sigh. The dishes might not be as lavish as some of the ones served back at his home in Ancelstierre, but the food was just as good and hearty. The sendings bow to him but make no verbal reply. Arthur supposes they probably can't speak.

He starts to clear up the table but various sendings descend and shoo him away, snatching plates and cutlery away from him pointedly. He laughs and backs up, hands raised.

"So, which bedroom is mine?" Arthur asks one of the hovering sendings. It has an impression of black robes over its Charter-crawling skin. The sending beckons and Arthur follows it upstairs dutifully. It gestures at the hallway leading to the larger bedrooms on the second floor, which Arthur takes to mean that he can have his choice. All the rooms have much the same furnishings, just in different colours. After some deliberation between the two rooms closest to the stairs, Arthur settles on the one furnished in shades of grey and white.

The sending nods and several more appear to clean out the room. The rooms aren't dirty, but as with most of the Abhorsen's House there is a thin layer of dust and a general air of disuse about them.

The room across the hall from him had some more personal effects, actually. It was all blues with gold accents, but there had been clothes hanging in the wardrobe and a few sheets of paper on the desk. Arthur had initially assumed it was the Piper's, though he'd revised that opinion upon exploring the third floor.

"Does anyone else live here besides me and the Piper?" Arthur asks the dark sending as it ushers him out of the cleaning sendings' way. It shakes its head. "Did someone used to live in that room?" A reluctant nod. "Who?"

The sending shakes its head again; either the question is too complex for pantomime answers or the sending does not wish to answer.

"Can you show me some books on Charter magic? Beginner stuff would be best, I think..." Arthur's boarding school, Somersby, was far enough from the Wall that only on days when the wind blew from the north would Charter magic be possible. Although he had taken top marks in the class, he somehow doubts that will mean much in the Old Kingdom.

Arthur curls up in a comfortable, overstuffed armchair set beside a window with the first book that one of the library sendings had brought him. The first chapter is already known to him, but the second is already beyond what he'd learned at Somersby...

The same dark sending from before wakes up a few hours later. Arthur blinks up at it in confusion, squinting a bit in the darkness - the sun has already fallen below the walls surrounding the island.

"Oh! How long was I asleep?"

The sending holds up three fingers.

"Oops," Arthur mutters, rubbing a hand over his mouth. "What time-"

Six fingers.

"Dinner?" Arthur asks, putting the book of Charter spells aside.

A nod, and then the sending plucks pointedly at his sleeve.

"I'm coming," Arthur mumbles, still groggy with sleep. He allows the sending to lead him back to the dining room, which is set for two again.

The Piper doesn't appear, though, and Arthur retreats to his newly-cleaned room with the book after dinner. He reads in his bed until he can't concentrate any longer then tries to go to sleep. He can't concentrate on the words of the book, but neither can he get his thoughts to stop circling back to this unbelievable situation.

The room is darker than he's used to, no faint illumination from the streetlights outside or the comforting sound of a car passing in the night. Arthur's not sure if he imagines hearing the rushing of the Ratterlin or if he can actually hear it, but either way it's not soothing in the slightest.

He curls up beneath the heavy covers and tries not to think about the home he desperately misses.


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur eats breakfast alone again, but the Piper interrupts Arthur's lunch. The Abhoresen ignores the sendings plucking at his sleeves- attempting to make him sit and eat the meal they'd prepared, perhaps.

"Come with me," the Piper orders curtly, and Arthur scrambles to obey, his chair scraping against the floor and cutlery clattering against the table in his haste to rise. The Piper's snorts and stalks out, his footsteps silent on the stone floor.

Arthur follows him up the stairs, to the third floor, and into the salle des armes.

"Do you know how to fight?" the Piper asks, pausing before the rack of weapons set beside the door. Arthur's not completely certain, but he doesn't think it was there yesterday.

"No," Arthur says.

"Of course you don't." The Piper turns away from the rack without removing anything and stalks to the centre of the room. The floor is padded but it still doesn't look especially soft. "I suppose we'll have to start with the basics."

Arthur follows him hesitantly, studying the Piper's posture. It seems casual, not tense in the slightest.

The second Arthur steps within reach, the Piper grabs him and throws him to the floor.

Arthur cries out on impact, scrambling away from the Piper. "What are you doing!?"

"Teaching you how to fight," the Piper says disinterestedly. "Keep up."

"You didn't tell me anything!" Arthur protests, taking a step back for every one forward by the Piper.

"Lesson the first," the Piper says, darting forward as Arthur's back hits the far wall, "how to fall."

* * *

"I'll expect you to learn a chapter a week of that book on Charter magic. When you're done that, I'll test you on the material. If you fail... Well, don't fail," the Piper says sometime later, his lips twisting into a smirk. "I gave the sendings a list of books for you to study when you're done with that one. And I suppose you'll need to start on the Book of the Dead at some point..."

Arthur nods weakly, too tired and hurting to do more. His body feels like it has bruises _everywhere_. If they're going to do this every day... Arthur represses a shudder and vows to look for books about fighting in the library if he has to. Reading about techniques in a book has got to be better than the Piper's demonstration-only instruction.

The Piper walks out, muttering to himself. A few minutes later, a door closes with a loud click; the door to his room, probably.

Arthur manages to climb to his feet and heads down to his own bedroom. A sending is just setting out a bath for him, and Arthur moans pathetically at the sight.


	4. Chapter 4

He explores the rest of the tower the next day, which has two levels above the library: a study and an observatory.

The study is a mess-- stacks of parchment piled haphazardly on the great desk, books strewn across various surfaces. There's a large map of the Old Kingdom dominating one wall, which Arthur examines with interest. Unsurprisingly, it bears little resemblance to the maps he'd seen in Ancelstierre.

There is a trapdoor set in the ceiling off to the side of the room. Arthur climbs the ladder slowly, his body protesting. He woke up sore from the Piper's 'instruction' and the aches have yet to fade. He pushes the trapdoor up hard enough that it opens completely, landing with a loud _thump_ and sending up a cloud of dust. Apparently this level is seldom used. Shocking.

Arthur coughs, waving a hand in front of his face as he peers around the room. There is a layer of Charter magic over the opening; the few symbols that Arthur recognizes represent warding and sealing, though it had done nothing to deter Arthur from entering. He can't see much of the room, but before he has the chance to climb fully into the room, his eyes catch on a large, lumpy white form laying in a patch of sunlight. A single band of red is interspersed seemingly randomly among the lumps.

All at once it uncoils, revealing a large snake with unnerving green eyes. Arthur yelps and takes a step back into empty air. He flails, hands grasping at the ladder's rungs before he manages to right himself. He hangs there, breathing heavily, his muscles screaming.

There is a tapping sound from the room, and then a white raven peers over the edge of the opening. A bright red collar encloses its neck, and a miniature bell hangs from that.

"You must be the new Abhorsen-in-waiting," it says, tilting its head; the bell jingles with the motion. Its eyes (still green, which is even more unnerving on a bird than on a snake) are keen, far too intelligent for a bird; then again, it shouldn't be _speaking_.

"What... Are you the Will?" Arthur asks, not making any move to approach it.

"Correct," it says. "And you are?"

"Arthur Penhaligon." He climbs back up, then fully into the room, the raven hopping back to make space. Tom hadn't said that the Will was dangerous, just that it took the form of animals. Apparently it's going to assume the form of a raven around Arthur.

"Ah, I thought that line had ended. How fortuitous," the Will says, though it doesn't sound like it thinks that's a good thing at all. "You do not look like an Abhorsen, however."

Arthur shrugs, peering around the rest of the room with interest. It is walled with glass, allowing sunlight to stream through unimpeded, and he can see over the high walls of the island from this height. There is a telescope set up near the middle of the room, along with a stool. There are a few more seats around them, but other than that it's empty. "I won't have to wear a mask, will I?" he asks absently.

The Will laughs, a harsh, croaking sound that grates at Arthur's nerves. "That depends, of course. But I was referring to your colouring. Most of the past Abhorsens have been pale and dark-haired, with matching eyes. Like corpses."

"That's not creepy at all," Arthur says, frowning down at it.

"I can help you," the Will says, as if it hadn't hear him. It flutters up to perch on his shoulder; it seems heavier than Arthur might have expected. The bruises on Arthur's shoulder throb faintly in protest. He raises his other hand, thinking to push it off. "If you remove this collar, that is... It's terribly tight." It pushes its head against Arthur's hand, managing to get the collar hooked around Arthur's fingers-

Charter magic, the collar is made up of Charter magic. Arthur barely recognizes any of the symbols scrolling past his eyes and he quickly yanks his hand away before the raven can jerk its head back and use Arthur's hand to pull the collar off.

"Maybe you should ask the Piper," Arthur says quickly, shrugging in an attempt to dislodge it. It merely tightens its claws in reply, otherwise undeterred. "I don't think I should be doing anything yet." He doesn't know anything about the bells yet, but the fact that the Piper wears his bandolier all the time must mean something. Besides, a shape-shifting, talking animal with a bell hanging from its collar can only be bad news, right?

"Strange," the Will says, cocking its head again. "You are more sensible than the last one. Little Pietro trained him so diligently and it all came to nothing anyway."

"Is Pietro the Piper?"

"Indeed."

Arthur thinks about asking why he goes by the Piper, then decides that he doesn't particularly care. The Will had mentioned something of greater interest anyway. "What happened to my predecessor?"

"I wonder if you'll ever find out," the Will says. Despite the fact that it has as unresponsive a mouth as a beak, Arthur imagines that it is smirking at him.

Arthur tries not to shudder at the impression. "Right, well, I need to go read my book, so..."

"How boring," the Will says, taking flight. It perches on the telescope this time, claws clicking against the metal. "I'll be here if you have any questions. I might even answer them."

"Truthfully is another matter," Arthur mutters, earning himself another awful, croaking laugh.

As he passes through the layer of warding, Arthur realizes that it must be meant to keep the Will confined to this room. Why, though? The Piper hadn't mentioned the Will at all, and the only thing Tom had said on the subject was that it was knowledgeable but a liar.

The collar and the little bell linger in his mind, and Arthur spends the rest of the time before lunch looking through various books for a mention of a similar collar. The only reference he finds is mention of necromantic bells, which don't seem to fit the bill at all.

The Piper finds him there around lunchtime and drags him off for more fighting instruction. Arthur considers asking the Piper, but the second he mentions the Will what little restraint the Piper had been displaying disappears entirely.

Arthur doesn't bring it up again.


End file.
